About us

The Leaders and Philosophy of Hangout Inc

On this page you can find information on the Organisation, the The President of Hangout Inc, Advisory Committee Members, and the Philosophy of Hangout Inc.

Hangout Inc

Mission Statement

To encourage boys and men to journey towards authentic manhood.

Vision

To see boys and men trained towards authentic manhood, who are able to impart life into their marriages and families and in turn help create stronger and healthier communities.

Objectives

1 Provide a source of training for men to help them work through personal issues and to take part in the wider community to mentor males of all ages.

2 Connect with High School boys to provide them with an understanding of, and imparting a vision for manhood.

Strategies

1 Deliver the Mates & Mentors Program which provides personal development training to Australian men to enable them to work through life issues.

2 Deliver the Passages Program which is a hands-on adventure and activity based program aiming to impart a vision and skills for manhood.

3 Establish a sustainable and secure funding base for the Programs.

Craig Porter
President of Hangout Inc and Director of the Hangout Downunder Camp program.

Craig Porter is the founder of Hangout Inc, which is an innovative non-profit organization developing strategic programs to combat the decline of positive male role models and the breakdown of families particularly in Australian communities. Craig has developed a clear vision for reaching boys and men with sound teaching principles and practical workshops to help them understand and become a quality male role model. This driving goal to both educate and encourage boys and men has now outworked itself into a range of Camp programs, High School mentoring initiatives and teaching seminars for Community groups, Churches and Clubs.

Craig has been a youth leader for 7 years and leader of a young families group for a period of 4 years.
He has also worked in Crisis Care Accommodation facility for homeless youth in the City of Brisbane.
He is a Land Surveyor in the State of Queensland and has been Principal of his own Consultancy firm for the past 15 years.
Craig has been married to Kristen for 17 years and has four children, Luke 15, Rebekah 13, Karlie 11 and Jessica 5.

Advisory Committee Members
Hangout Inc. has an Advisory Committee overseeing the directions of the organization.

David Delaney

David has had extensive experience in Senior Executive positions for companies such as Woolworth's and has been the general manager of AA Tegal Pty Ltd, which is the largest Turkey and Duck producer in Australia.
He became Group General Manager Marketing of all poultry operations for the Ingham Group.
Following 6 years at Ingham's, David established the Marketing consulting DDC - David Delaney Consulting Pty Ltd.
David now provides consulting services to selected cutting edge companies.
David, a grandfather, is married to Carol and they have 3 adult children.

Beverly Timms

Beverly has successfully operated Timms curtain House alongside her husband Tom for the past 14 years.
Prior to this she has had a further 7 years in successful small business and 7 years nursing.
Beverly has participated in Life Education, primarily involved in anti-drug programs for primary aged children.
Beverly is a seasoned and accomplished camper, catering for large groups of people at any one time in this setting.
She is a mother of 2 boys, Matthew 21yrs and Nathan 14yrs.

Roger Hooper

Roger has a Master of Engineering Science, Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology.
He is currently the Account Manager-Mining, Minerals and Metals for Invenseys Process Systems.
He has also acted as the local Australian Government representative for all the government owned and leased properties on the European continent, while with the Australian Embassy.
He has been both an instructor and counsellor at summer youth camps in Scotland from 1983 -1991.
He is married to Jane and they have 2 children Lauren 2yrs and baby Joseph.

Trevor Edwards

Trevor is self employed, working as a Music Manager/ Agent and has been doing this since 1999.
Before that he worked as a Tour Manager for various musicians.
Trevor has also been employed as a Youth Pastor for Gateway Baptist Church for 6 years between 1990 and 1996.
He is also a qualified electrician.
Trevor is passionate about music and relates wonderfully with youth.
He has been married to Kathleen for 17 years and his children are Samantha 9 and Julian 7.

John Watson

John is presently a Pastor in Sydney.
He has spent 11 years in the Queensland Government Printing Department - Go Print and 6 years as an offset printer and supervisor for the Reserve Bank of Australia.
John enjoys reading and all types of sports.
He is passionate about people and seeing them journey in life.
He has been married to Paula for 13 years and has two children Jessica 9 and Mikayla 6.

Kristen Porter

Kristen is a qualified secondary teacher in Physical Education.
She has been employed as a supply teacher for Education Queensland on a casual basis.
Kristen is a mother of 4 children and is committed to raising them as her first priority.
She has tutored at Christian Heritage College, Brisbane and prior to that has qualified as a School Dental Therapist with Queensland Health.
Kristen's interests lie in parenting issues and creating positive memories for children of all ages.
She has been married to Craig for 15 years.

Philosophy

Need for a Definition

Without a clear definition of manhood for men and boys, there is confusion as to how one is expected to behave and one's responsibilities. Therefore, as a community, we need to be able to find a relevant and suitable definition of authentic manhood. According to a dictionary, a definition is a description of the essential qualities of something, the quality of being clear and distinct and sharpness of outline.

Process

We have a process for everything else in life, for example, we study through a process to obtain a degree and have a piece of paper at the end of the process, to show that we have been trained in that particular field of study. There seems to be no clear process on how one becomes a man, what a man is expected to do, how a man behaves and knowing when one has arrived as a man.

We need a specific training experience for boys and men to understand their masculinity. It is foundational for all that men do and all that they are and are to become. Why do we need specific manhood training? -To teach boys and men how to:- Give and earn respect, study hard, work hard, relate to women and establish a personal code of ethics.

Education System

Robert Sternberg in "Successful Intelligence" makes the comment that statistics show that IQ accounts for only 4% of your potential to be successful in life where success is defined as being content, happy and at peace with yourself. That leaves 96% of your potential to be determined by other factors such as your ability to relate; to yourself and others. It therefore stands to reason that the education system is not wholly responsible for the training and teaching of our young people in all areas of life.

Early Prevention not Crisis Intervention

For our society to become healthier, safer places to live, we need to have a long-term preventative approach as well as a crisis intervention approach to the ever-increasing negative social trends.

Community Involvement

Government cannot be held solely responsible for fixing the problems faced by communities. Government and communities need to work together if community life is going to improve. There is an enormous wealth of resources in our communities, both financial and personnel resources. Positive influence in communities is harnessed when wider community relationships are developed.

Target Groups

a) Men & Boys need mentors

Steve Biddulph in his book 'Raising Boys' suggests that from the age of 14 boys start to look to other men apart from their fathers as role models and mentors.' All age groups of men need mentors who have more experience than themselves to encourage them through life. The challenge is to create a community of men of all ages who can mentor each other.

b) The Aussie Bloke

The Aussie male tends to be non-relational and internalises hurts and pain in their lives. According to Men's Line, a male telephone counselling service, the majority of men will not seek help in person. A challenge therefore, before the community, is to create opportunities and safe environments where men can work through their issues, enabling them to look beyond themselves, in order to input into their marriages, their families and the wider community.

c) All Boys

Boys from all cultural backgrounds, not just high-risk kids need to experience the journey into manhood alongside an appropriate mentor. If communities can offer effective mentoring programs to our boys, as early as 12 - 13 years of age, continuing throughout the high school years, then societies will see a drop in the need for so much crisis intervention.